Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 138 Playing Madman

There are still two characters left to be confirmed, one is Pang Yong, one of the male protagonists, and the other is the female supporting role, the demon catcher Xia Bing, who has a lot of scenes and can actually be barely counted as one of the female protagonists.

Cao Yang decided to audition for the role of Pang Yong first.

For the role of monster catcher Xia Bing, please don’t release any audition information for the time being.

Before this, countless actresses have inquired about female roles in the movie through various channels. If the news of auditions is released, I am afraid there will be a chaos again. At that time, there will be all kinds of requests for favors, and some of them will be difficult to refuse.

Mr. Han once suggested that a big-name actor from Hong Kong should be used for the role of Pang Yong. After careful consideration, Cao Yang felt that it was unnecessary.

The fact that two movie queens are acting on the same stage is already a big gimmick in itself. This is also the first commercial film directed by Cao Yang, so it is likely to be a hot topic.

The box office-pulling ability of Hong Kong's big-name actors is just so-so.

After selecting Pang Yong, Cao Yang sent audition invitations to several actors he liked.

Duan Yihong was a student of the 94 class of the Central Academy of Drama. After graduating with excellent grades in 98, he was specially recruited by the Experimental Theater, which is the predecessor of the National Theatre of China.

The first film and television drama he took on was playing a killer in "Detective Depot". In order to play this role with very few scenes well, he practiced drawing his gun thousands of times.

In order to play the real state of a mental patient well, he went to the mental hospital and asked the director to let him in for close contact. He was a little Karami and had no letter of introduction, so the director was definitely unwilling.

He waited in front of the dean's door for two days before he got what he wanted. It was more like scaring the dean than impressing him.

In recent years, he has acted in TV series, movies, and dramas. He is a well-known drama maniac and an actor who is difficult to "deal with" in the eyes of directors. He has a strong sense of self-awareness.

After Duan Yihong finished rehearsing the revised play "Rhinoceros in Love", he sat there alone, lost in thought.

Another leading actor, Wang Ning, also graduated from the Central Academy of Drama. He came over and patted Duan Yihong on the shoulder, still calling Duan Yihong's name in the play: "Malu, what's wrong? Are you worried about something?"

Duan Yihong slapped Wang Ning's hand away. He had a girlfriend, so he paid attention to these details.

"Well, there's a movie that asked me to audition, but I'm rehearsing a play right now, so I don't know what to choose."

"Hey, you've rejected two roles before, why are you hesitating this time?"

Wang Ning knew that two plays had wanted to find Duan Yihong to play a supporting role some time ago, but this guy refused without hesitation, saying that he wanted to concentrate on rehearsing the drama. This time seemed a little unusual.

"This time, I am being auditioned for a leading role..." Duan Yihong looked ahead with unfocused eyes, and it was obvious that he was troubled.

"I wonder why you hesitated, you are the protagonist. No wonder, this is a very rare opportunity."

Wang Ning looked at Duan Yihong, hesitated for a moment and said, "It's just an audition, not a decision to choose you. I think it's better to refuse. Our play is already quite famous. It will definitely have a big impact if you perform it, and you will also get more recognition."

In Wang Ning's opinion, even if Duan Yihong, who is still a little-known actor, received an invitation to audition for the leading role, it would be from an unknown small crew, otherwise they would not value Duan Yihong.

It’s not that Duan Yihong is not good. In Wang Ning’s opinion, Duan Yihong is a very good man. In order to play the role well, he can pay attention to many details and his acting skills are also very good.

However, Duan Yihong is not famous, so the crew that can invite him must not be that good.

Duan Yihong turned his head and looked at Wang Ning. After a moment of silence, he said, "It's Director Cao Yang's latest movie. Should I refuse the audition invitation?"

Wang Ning was stunned for a moment, suspecting that he had heard it wrongly, "Who are you talking about?"

"Director Caoyang Cao."

"Fuck!"

What ladylike demeanor? Wang Ning didn't care about all that. She just slapped Duan Yihong on the shoulder. She used a lot of force in this slap, which made Duan Yihong grimace in pain.

"Is it true?" Duan Yihong rubbed his shoulders and nodded.

Wang Ning had a lot to say, all polite words, the kind used around the world.

"Yihong, have you ever thought about finding a girlfriend again?" After saying that, he straightened his not-so-strong chest.

Her words were half true and half false. If Duan Yihong revealed even a little bit of his meaning, she wouldn't mind sacrificing herself tonight.

"Go, stop joking."

Wang Ning was silent for a moment before he said, "Let me tell you a true story. In the movie 'Subway to Spring' which was released last May, I played a role with quite a lot of scenes. There was another supporting role in the movie, a small supporting role with very few scenes. Do you know who she is?"

Duan Yihong shook his head. He hadn’t seen every movie, so of course he didn’t know who Wang Ning was talking about.

"She was a little-known actress at the time, with almost no fame, but she was also favored by Director Cao and starred in Secret Sunshine... Do you know who I'm talking about?"

When talking about this person, Wang Ning couldn't help but feel envious and jealous. Why didn't such a good thing happen to him?

"Gao Yuanyuan?"

Duan Yihong guessed that he had seen "Secret Sunshine" and Gao Yuanyuan's acting was really good and natural, as if she had integrated into the role, it didn't look like she was acting.

"Well, it was because of her role in Director Cao's movie that she went from being a nobody to becoming the best actress at the Cannes Film Festival. Now she is one of the four best actresses in China, and she has risen to the top overnight."

Wang Ning couldn't help but feel envious again.

"If you can pass the audition, you may not win the Best Actor award like Gao Yuanyuan, but you will definitely become a top male star like Liu Ye."

"Shall I try?"

"Try it."

"But what about Director Meng?" Duan Yihong had a headache. He stood someone up right after the rehearsal began. This was really not what a gentleman should do.

Wang Ning smiled, "This is easy to solve. Go for the audition first. If you don't pass, just pretend it never happened. If you are lucky enough to be noticed by Director Cao, you can tell Director Meng directly and tell him that you can continue rehearsing after filming Director Cao's movie. I think Director Meng will agree."

After Director Cao's movie is released, we will perform a drama. The male lead of the drama is a hot star, and Director Meng will definitely be happy.

Even if I'm unhappy, what can I do? Block someone's future?
Then we will be enemies.

In fact, the National Theatre has always done a good job in this regard and will not prevent artistes from acting in foreign film and television dramas.

Cao Yang sent audition invitations to three people, the not-so-greasy Huang Xiaoming, Deng Chao, and Duan Yihong.

After the audition, it was found that Duan Yihong, who is already 30 years old, is more suitable for Pang Yong.

Pang Yong is positioned as a warrior who can hold a big knife and go to kill people alone without waiting for the follow-up troops. Such a character needs someone who appears to be more resolute.

Nowadays, Huang Xiaoming and Deng Chao both have good acting skills and great potential, but compared with Duan Yihong, Duan Yihong is more in line with the character.

Among them, Huang Xiaoming is the most famous, but the difference is not that big.

Huang Xiaoming has not yet starred in "The Return of the Condor Heroes" which made him a star. Now it is "The Emperor of Han Dynasty" that has made him somewhat famous, but it does not bring much benefit to the movie.

Deng Chao’s “The Young Emperor” has not been aired yet, and he is still a little-known figure, not much better than Duan Yihong.

There is nothing to hesitate about, so let's decide on Duan Yihong.

(End of this chapter)